As Professor Hirsch came over to talk to Derf, Emmeline had reluctantly moved aside for the professor and gone to sit next to Stasya. She still had a significant amount of attention focused on her Hufflepuff friend, though, as Professor Hirsch started the lesson. But then...his first question...all thoughts fled the Gryffindor's mind as her mind went BLANK. She could feel her heart speeding up a LOT, and her palms getting all sweaty and gross. What did he mean?!

It was NEVER, EVER, EVER OKAY TO HURT A CREATURE!!!!!!! Even those runespoors in the IMPS tournament last year -- Emmeline had watched half in terror for the champions, and half for the creatures. She would've way preferred that the champions simply have to find a way to get away from the runespoors... She wasn't totally stupid; she knew that there were plenty of Dark creatures out there that could or would hurt people if they got the chance. But honestly, it wasn't the creatures' fault -- it was just in their nature or their instincts or whatever. And that was why wizards at the Ministry worked to help contain or keep people away from those creatures; it was a necessary evil, like with dragons. As much as it pained her to think about dragons being stuck on a reserve, she understood why it was necessary. But this....

Emmeline felt a tiiiiny bit better as she heard some of her classmates' answers, but she couldn't find her voice to add to theirs. And then Professor Hirsch was describing this horrible spell and the thought of it being used on a creature was just...just...

Horrible. She didn't care what the Ministry had to say about it; letting wizards have that kind of power over a creature was just WRONG. So, so wrong. Hand still shaking and sweaty, she raised it tentatively and tried to catch Professor Hirsch's eye as everyone started scattering to practice the spell: "P-professor... What's to stop someone making the vines go around the creature's NECK?" Her voice cracked A LOT as she asked this super important question; her mouth was trembling and her eyes kept darting back to the shaking box that was obviously hiding a creature for them to practice this awful spell on... And she couldn't just sit here and let that happen. She COULDN'T.

So Emmeline did something incredibly reckless, even for her; she didn't think about it, didn't consciously decide to do it... She wasn't even aware of WHAT she was doing; one second she was sitting there frozen in horror, the next she was jumping up and SPRINTING right for the box, her wand outstretched even while her hand shook and formed a wand movement from memory, as if on auto pilot. Next second, she was screaming: "Alohomora!" The only thought penetrating through the fog of panic and horror in her mind was that she had to get the creature to safety. She remembered only too well what it was like to be trapped, to be just waiting for a wizard to raise his wand and strike at you while all you could do was wait and try desperately to escape...

She couldn't let that happen.